Donald Trump honored Chinese President Xi Jinping with a State Dinner in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, marking the first visit by the Chinese leader to Washington in over a decade. During the event, the American president stated that the two have "never" been on better terms.
The banquet, held with 134 guests in a hall decorated in shades of red—the most auspicious color in Chinese culture—and gold, was the central event of Xi's state visit to Washington, which took place from September 23 to 25.
The most striking moment of the evening came when Trump surprised those present with a symbolic gift for his counterpart: the sculpture of a bald eagle, the national emblem of the United States, which two soldiers in formal uniform unveiled before the guests.
"The embodiment of the free and immense spirit of the United States. We hope it finds a nice place, a wonderful place, in Beijing," said Trump while presenting the gift.
In his toast speech, the U.S. president also recalled the hospitality he received during his visit to the Chinese capital in early 2026.
"The hospitality of the Chinese people was on full display during my visit to Beijing, and tonight we hope to show you the same honor upon returning to Washington for the first time in over a decade," Trump stated.
The guest list was a showcase of the technological and corporate power of the United States. Elon Musk and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, shared a table with Peng Liyuan, China's First Lady. Also present were Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Mark Zuckerberg; Lisa Su from AMD; Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin; Jeff Bezos; Tim Cook; and Sundar Pichai, among others.
The menu, designed by Melania Trump's office, aimed to bridge the two cultures by using "American ingredients with a subtle Chinese influence". The selected dishes were: yellow squash velouté with wild mushroom fricassée and crispy pancetta, sea bass with bok choy and eggplant, and vanilla cream with sour cherry compote, walnut frangipane, and ice cream made with White House honey.
The dinner began with the same wine that Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and President Richard Nixon shared in 1972 in Beijing. The choice of Schramsberg 'Blanc De Noir' was a tribute to the historic "Toast for Peace" that reestablished diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In his response, Xi urged both nations to act "as responsible great powers, meet the expectations of our peoples, and explore a new path for collaboration between these great powers."
The Chinese president assured that he and Trump have had "sincere and in-depth exchanges, and have reached an understanding on many issues."
However, the most sensitive issues were notably absent from the speeches and toasts. Tariff tensions, artificial intelligence, and Taiwan had previously been discussed during technical meetings between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
These meetings resulted in two modest agreements: the two-month extension of the commercial truce —which was set to expire on November 10 and is now extended until January 10, 2027— and the exploration of a communication mechanism for incidents involving artificial intelligence that impact national security.
Regarding Taiwan, Xi emphasized that "China's position on the protection of national unification and territorial integrity is unequivocal" and urged Washington to "handle the matter with caution."
A detail that did not go unnoticed by analysts. Contrary to expectations, Xi did not travel with Chinese businessmen, a sign interpreted as an indication that the Washington summit would not yield significant concrete results, beyond solidifying the bilateral relationship.
This was the second meeting between Trump and Xi in 2026. The first meeting took place in May, when Trump landed in Beijing during the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to China in nearly nine years. On that occasion, Xi hosted a state banquet for his counterpart, and Trump formally invited the Chinese leader to visit Washington.
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